WE LIVE AND WORK IN A PRODUCT-DRIVEN INDUSTRY. IT’S RIGHT THERE IN THE name, the Travel Goods Association. And we love travel products. There’s been a lot of excitement in our offices as we gear up for what promises to be the biggest, best Travel Goods Show yet. For weeks, as we’ve assembled this special issue of Travel Goods Showcase, we’ve caught glimpses of what lies ahead in travel goods — remarkable innovations, clever solutions to difficult problems, all manner of gadgets that take the hassle out of travel. It’s easy to believe our business is about products, but I think that would be a false belief.
I had a recent conversation with a friend about how ubiquitous and pervasive portable music players have become. Almost every electronics manufacturer makes one, and electronics sales have become a multi-million dollar branch (and possibly the very future) of the music business. Apple’s iPod, in particular, has become a cultural phenomenon — more than 70% of the car models offered in the U.S. this year feature iPod connections, and Apple announced that United, Continental, Delta, Air France, KLM, and Emirates airlines will have iPod connectors for passengers starting in mid-2007. I told my friend how fascinating this was, that Apple created this technology that has become so widespread that we’re seeing iPod controls being integrated into backpacks, handbags, and even clothing. I was surprised when he told me that wasn’t necessarily true, that it was people who made the iPod popular, not its technology.
My friend explained that digital music players existed before the iPod was created, and some of them were more powerful than those first early iPods, with larger storage capacities. But what really made the iPod catch on, he said, was the fact that Apple had an intuitive, fast way to organize and access the iPod’s library. It wasn’t just being able to carry a lot of music that made it a success, it was the fact that users could quickly call up the tunes they wanted. And that was the key — the iPod didn’t just give people big portable music collections, it made those songs quickly and easily accessible.0
We get excited about things like wheeled luggage and lightweight materials not because they’re technical breakthroughs, but because they help fulfill the wish for a better travel experience. It’s not about the material feature, light weight — it’s about how much easier the luggage is to tote. It’s about what it means to people, and that’s true of every aspect of our industry.
Ryan Mathews’ feature on future consumer habits is a great example of how successful companies will need to address the browsing and shopping habits of the future. Companies don’t have to make changes because of future web technologies, but because of the ways people use them. And successful companies will take these future shopping habits into account and cater to them.
So as we gather together in Las Vegas, and collectively “oooh and aaah” at the latest and greatest items in travel goods, please remember to say hello to your industry friends and partners. Smile. Shake hands. Even hug. Because without these people, our industry wouldn’t exist.
Editor-in-chief
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